OCC Assesses $125 Million Civil Money Penalty Against Bank of America, Orders Restitution for Unfair and Deceptive Practices — 2022-07-14

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today assessed a $125 million civil money penalty against Bank of America, N.A., for violations of law and unsafe or unsound practices relating to the bank’s administration of a prepaid card program to distribute unemployment insurance and other public benefit payments. The OCC also ordered the bank to provide remediation to consumers harmed by the bank’s practices and violations of law. The bank administered the Unemployment Benefits Prepaid Card Program on behalf of 12 states: Arizona, California, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, and South Carolina. The OCC found that the bank’s practices violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, in connection with the bank’s failure to adequately investigate and resolve consumer claims of unauthorized transactions.